Love's Eternal Flame
by Nightsailer
Summary: When a mysterious girl shows up, Hiei hates her just like any other person he would meet on the street. But when she proves a match for even HIS insolence, how can Hiei keep his cool and make sure that she doesn't get the best of him and his icy heart?
1. Mysterious Appearance

Sorry this chapter is so short, the end just seemed like a good place to put a cliffhanger…so keep hangin' on that cliff until I get the next chapter in!!

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Hiei lay up in a tree, watching the people pass him by. Each one was different, and yet they had so many similarities. _There goes another one with black hair...and another..._ The spiky haired fire demon snickered to himself. "Boy, I really need to find someone to harass..." He stretched and slid out of the tree. His ruby eyes glinted in the afternoon sunlight. He looked around for a good victim.  
He was about to go after a particularly hastled young man when a strong energy field caught his attention. Hiei whipped around, head turning this way and that, looking for the demon that was the source of the sudden distrubance. "This is that dunce Yusuke's job, not mine," he muttered to himself as he took off unnoticed through the crowd.  
His super speed led him to a back alley. _Odd,_ he thought. _Most demons would be out trying to get their fill of human flesh, not basking in shadows..._ He peered into the darkness, slowly letting his eyes adjust. There, underneath a fire escape, lay a young woman. She had long, wavy black hair, and she was just as short as Hiei was.  
_Leave her,_ was his first instinct. But as he turned to go, the girl groaned.  
"Hiei..." She murmured. She turned bright red eyes on the little fire demon. "I've found you at last..."  
"I've never met you before in my life. You'd better tell me how you know me or else your head will go rolling across the gound."  
She just smiled mischievously at him for a few minutes. "Let's just say I've seen you around."  
"I don't have time for this." Hiei turned on his heel and started to walk back down the alley.  
"Why? You seem to have nothing better to do. I've been sent by King Hidetokeru to keep an eye on you."  
_Blast!_ He thought. _An agent of the king!_ "What does he want with me?" He asked warily.  
The girl examined her sharp nails nonchalantly. "Nothing in particular."  
"THEN STOP TOYING WITH ME!" His hands blazed with red fire. He pointed a finger at the girl. "What's your name?!"  
"Sayaka." Sayaka looked up at him with leering eyes, very much like his own. "Why are you so worked up? Don't tell me that you're scared of a little girl like me."  
By this time Hiei was furious. "I AM NOT SCARED BY INSOLENT LITTLE GIRLS!!"  
She laughed. "You're just as hot headed as everyone at home says. You know, I have a notion to report your existance to the ice demons...AND your relation to the Ice Apparition, Yukina."  
"Erk..." Hiei weighed his chances. He could strike the girl and be done with it...but what weapons did she have hidden underneath that cloak?  
His thoughts were cut short when Kurama appeared around the corner. "Hiei, come with me. Yusuke has bumbled up yet another mission...We need to help him."  
"Why do I have to help that stupid little fartknocker?" He waved his hand airily. "I have my own affairs to deal with."  
Kurama ignored his friend's insolent tone and leaned over to see who the little fire demon was talking to. "Who's your girlfriend?"  
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND I JUST MET HER GODDAMMIT!" Hiei threw a rock at Kurama's head. The red headed boy laughed and stepped to the left, letting the stone whiz by him harmlessly.  
"You're losing your touch, pal. Say, miss, want to come with us? We have to go sort out a mess our friend made."  
Sayaka's bright red eyes bored into Kurama's emerald ones, making him look away. "Yes, I suppose. I'm supposed to watch this little cretin anyway."  
"YOU'RE the only cretin around here, you little bitch!"  
She looked innocently at him. "I thought you said I was a cretin? Make up your mind, wouldya?"  
Kurama smiled sheepishly. "I guess all fire demons are the same, aren't they?"  
"WE'RE NOTHING ALIKE!" They both yelled at the same time. They glared at each other furiously afterwards.  
"See? You even think alike!" Kurama ran down the street laughing and being chased by two particularly pissed fire demons. 

Hiei and Sayaka grappled all the way there.  
"Why are you so stupid?!" Hiei smacked her across the face.  
"Why are you so arrogant?!" Sayaka blocked and tried to kick him somewhere painful. "WHY THE HELL DID I EVEN TAKE THIS JOB?!"  
"Because I'm too damn SEXY for you to resist!" Hiei stuck his tongue out at her.  
BAM!!!  
The two fire demons smashed into Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kurama had easily avoided the collision, and was now staring down their enemy.  
A tiny demon, barely 5 inches tall was glaring back at them. "Come get me, suckers!" He made a face.  
Hiei stared blankly at it. "THAT is what that idiot needed me to help him with?!" He snorted.  
"IT'S FRIGGEN FAST!" Yelled Yusuke. "WATCH!" He ran at it, but the demon skittered this way and that, avoiding his grasp.  
"NYAH NYAH! CAN'T CATCH -- ERK!! LEMME GO!"  
Sayaka was holding him around the teeny little waist. "What the hell was the big deal?"  
All eyes turned to Kuwabara and Yusuke. "Uhm..." Said Yusuke.  
Kuwabara was circling Sayaka. "Oooh, who's the girl? She's pretty!"  
Sayaka booted him over the horizon.  
Hiei sniggered. "The first thing you actually did right."  
Yusuke watched his friend go sailing into a billboard. "Ouch...he's gonna feel that in the morning. Well, I'd better get going. I have to meet Keiko at the movie theater. Catch up with ya later, guys." He started off down the street. Right as he was about to turn the corner, he looked back and yelled, "I HOPE THINGS GO WELL WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND, HIEI!" Then he took off running.  
"BASTARD!" Hiei threw a fireball at him.  
Kurama rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Hiei. Let's go to Yusuke's house." They'd been staying in the juevenile delinquent's house since they became part of the "squad". "Bring your friend too."  
"She's not my friend," he grumbled. But at least Kurama didn't say that she was his girlfriend.  
Sayaka looked at him sideways then walked after Kurama. Hiei sighed and folled. 

That night, Hiei lay awake like always, sitting in the windowsill letting the night breeze filter through his ebony hair. The moonlight danced across his face, illuminating his eyes. He took a deep breath then swung his legs back into the room.  
The fire demon jumped when he heard someone whisper his name in the dark. "Hiei..."  
He looked around. Seeing no one unfamiliar, he examined Kurama. The redhead was sleeping peacefully with his head under his pillow. _Nope, not him._ He looked at Yusuke. "If you're playing tricks on me again, you little idiot, I will personally rip your head off and mount it on a pike." Yusuke just drooled. _Not him either._ That left only one person...  
He slowly trudged over to Sayaka.  
"Hiei..." A single tear ran down her face.  
Hiei extended a finger and poked her in the side. "Why are you calling me?"  
She reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it tight. "He-man-chan..."  
He jumped at this sudden nickname. Only one person had ever called him that. 


	2. Icy Resolve

Here's chapter two! And yes! ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! ^_^ Sorry, I love putting you people in suspense. It amuses me to no end. So enjoy; I'll have the next chappie up soon!!

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"He-man-chan..." She pulled his hand close to her body, bringing him ever nearer. He looked at her confusedly, as she had him in her iron grasp up to the shoulder. Suddenly, she turned over, bringing him down beside her with his arm around her. "ARGH! STUPID...Youkai..." He suppressed his scream as she snuggled close against him. He felt his cheeks burn bright red. He tried to push her away, but her death grip on his arm made that impossible. So he just had to lay there awkwardly with his arm around the demon girl.  
_This can't be the same little girl from all those years ago...?_ He started to lift up her hair with his free hand.  
"YOU PERVERT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sayaka was blushing a deep crimson as she smacked him away from her. "OOOOOOOOH, I HATE YOU!" She threw a vase that was sitting on the table at him.  
"Hey! THAT'S MY LINE! YOU grabbed ME, idiot!"  
"What's going on in here?!" Yusuke's mother, Atsuko, had just swung open the door and flicked on the light. She was now standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.  
"He was getting fresh!" Sayaka pointed fervently at Hiei.  
Atsuko sighed. "Mr. Hiei, if you're gonna sleep with girls, at LEAST get a separate room than Kurama and Yusuke!"  
"STUPID NINGEN!" He screamed at her. "I HAVE NO DESIRE TO SLEEP WITH THIS LECH!"  
"Lech? ME?! YOU'RE one to talk, you bastard!"  
Atsuko had nodded off in the doorway, even with all the screaming and the like. Yusuke was practically drowning in his own drool. Hiei growled and rolled Atsuko down the hall back to her room, as he had done so many times before during his wakeful nights.  
"Don't tell me you're gonna sleep with Yusuke's MOTHER?!" Sayaka was chasing him down the hall.  
"HOW PERVERTED CAN YOU BE?!" Hiei whirled around, dropping Yusuke's mother down the stairs.  
"Nice job, nimrod." Sayaka used her super fire-demon speed to catch Atsuko before she hit the landing. "You know, I was just messin' with ya. Why do you get so worked up?"  
His hair stood on end. "WHO WOULDN'T?! Just stay away from me!" He stormed down the hall back towards his room. He felt her eyes following him, but he just ignored them and slammed the door in her face. _She's definitely not the girl I knew from childhood. After all, she's a FIRE demon...._ "ACK!"  
She was standing right in front of him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten that ALL fire demons have super speed?" She leered at him.  
But as she did, he noticed a small blueish tint reflect in her eyes, something that was NEVER found in a fire demon. They always had ruby red eyes that sparkled as if on fire. He shook his head and averted his eyes. "Leave me alone!" He seemed to disappear into the very air, leaving Sayaka to fume all by her lonesome. 

He walked along the cold city streets. All 500 years of his life** seemed to flash before his eyes. But the time that caught his attention most was when he still lived with the Ice Apparitions. A little girl, no more than 7 years old, had followed him around day after day. 

**FLASHBACK** 

"Wait up, He-man-chan!" The little girl trotted along at the older boy's heels, completely unaware that he was ignoring her. "Will you marry me when I get older?"  
"No."  
"PLEASE?"  
"I SAID NO."  
"But why?"  
Hiei spun around and got right up in her face. "Cuz you're an ugly little fartknocker, that's why!"  
Her huge blue-green eyes welled up with tears. "Then you HATE me?"  
_YES!_ His mind screamed. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he pulled the spunky little Ice Apparition into an embrace. "I am a forbidden child. I cannot love or be loved." 

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Cannot love or be loved... 

**END FLASHBACK** 

Hiei smiled into the night wind. This was how he liked it - to be alone. "Besides," he said to himself. "That girl died a long time ago. There's no way she's back." He laughed at himself. "How can I be so childish? After all I've learned from my many battles, how can I still even CONSIDER such fairy tales?" He climbed the nearest tree and fell asleep contentedly in its branches.  
Little did he know, a pair of red eyes with a bluish tint were watching him from behind a bus stop. "Hiei, you have learned so much, and yet there is still so much you do not know." A smile danced around their owner's face. "But I promise you now, you will know more than what you bargained for when I finally make you see what happened to little Aura Sukamori..." Then the eyes faded into the night with a twinkle.


	3. Girl of Shadows

I know, I know, another really short chapter. But I keep getting to the cliffhangers!! @_@ I know where I want to put them, so some of the chapters are really short. Please bear with me, and enjoy the show! Hey, the shorter the chapters, the greater suspense! :-P I WIN!

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A little girl materialized out of seemingly nothing and stood right in front of Hiei. "Why did you abandon me, He-man-chan?" She asked him wistfully. "You hugged me so passionately that last day we saw each other..."  
Hiei tried to protest, to say that he hadn't done anything of the sort, but his lips were sealed shut, as if by ice. The girl smiled at him. "You are not allowed to speak here, lest you tell more unforgivable lies. You are the one I love, the ONLY one."  
_Why me?_ Was the only thing that ran through his head. _Why did I get stuck with this stupid little girl?_  
"If you keep thinking like that, I'll haunt you until the day you die. If death finds someone still unsatisfied, then they shall NOT rest in peace as the headstone says, but they shall wander the earth until their business is complete." She leaned forward, her cold blue-green eyes boring holes into his own. "I'll make you fall in love with me, Hiei. You can count on that." And with that, she leaned forward, and an icy chill ran through Hiei's body as her lips found his. 

"ARRRRRRRGH! AURA!" He woke up screaming, still dangling from a branch. His knuckles were white, and beads of sweat hung from his brow.  
Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara ran up from where they'd been headed for school. "What is it, Hiei?!" Yusuke yelled.  
Hiei glared at him and didn't say anything. Yusuke shrugged, gave him the finger, then continued on down the street with Kuwabara.  
Only Kurama still stood underneath the tree. "A nightmare?" He inquired.  
"None of your beezwax," muttered Hiei. "Where is Sayaka? I need to speak with her."  
Kurama looked at him strangely. "But I though you hated--"  
"JUST SHUT UP AND ANSWER THE QUESTION, GODDAMMIT!" Hiei sprung lightly down from the tree and glared at his best friend.  
The redhead sighed. "Sorry, your majesty, but I haven't seen her since last night. She left shortly after you did. Why do you ask?"  
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Hiei tore off down the street away from a bewildered Kurama.  
A smile spread across Kurama's face. His eyes seemed to flicker gold for a little while. "I think Hiei is in way over his head on this particular matter," Youko said to himself. He laughed and let Kurama take over again. Kurama looked around to make sure no one had seen his sudden transformation, then ran after Yusuke and Kuwabara. 

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Dammit! She's always around when I don't want to be in the same universe with her, and when I actually WANT to see her, she's nowhere to be found! HOW THE HELL DOES SHE DO IT?! He rounded a building and smacked right into Sayaka.  
"Jerk! Watch where you're going!" She rubbed her head irritably. "What's with bolting around these stupid corners like that?"  
"Shut up I need to talk to you." He grabbed her arm. "In private."  
She looked at him scornfully. "Make up your mind. Do you want to talk or be left alone?!"  
He didn't answer, just led her to the middle of the park. Once there, he climbed a tree and motioned for her to follow.  
"Uh-uh. I don't do trees." She started to walk away, but Hiei grabbed her wrist.  
"You're not going anywhere until we talk." He yanked her hard up into the tree.  
"OW! Bastard!" She rubbed her shoulder. "What's so important that you have to yank my arm out of its socket?!"  
"Why are you haunting me?"  
"Whatever do you mean?" She looked at him sideways.  
"You...you're haunting me! And...you appeared in my dream...and you were my friend Aura..." He was sounding more stupid by the minute. Now that he thought about it, she had no connection at all with Aura.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" She looked at him incredoulously. "First you try to get fresh with me, then you claim I'm haunting you! It's no wonder spirit world has you on its top wanted list-" She stopped short. "Wait; ARE you on their top wanted list?"  
"You just SAID I was," he said irritably. "And you SOUNDED like you knew, and YES I AM."  
"But I didn't know that..." She said, her voice a low whisper. "All I knew was that I'm supposed to be tracking you..." Her voice was near hysterics. "Hiei, what's going on?!" 


	4. Confession

Yeesh, they get shorter and shorter. I PROMISE the next chappie will be longer.

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He stared back at her. "I have no idea..." Meanwhile, the sun was setting behind them. Hiei turned around and watched it. "There's only one thing worthwhile about this lousy planet...and that's the sunset." He turned back to Sayaka. "What do you think--Sayaka?"  
She was zoned out, her eyes fixed on the burning orb grasping the edge of the horizon. And then, though it was the end of spring and quite warm out at the moment, an icy chill blew over the area. Sayaka's hair rippled in the sudden breeze and blew over her eyes.  
Hiei felt concerned despite himself. He reached over and shook her slightly. "What are you doing you idiot?! This isn't funny!" When she didn't respond, he shook her harder. "SAYAKA!"  
Her eyes fluttered, then she looked at him and smiled. Blue green tints sparkled in her pupils. "I am not Sayaka."  
Hiei's hands dropped to his sides. He tried to muster up an insolent and nonchalant tone, but all he managed was a wavery whisper. "Aura...?"  
"Yes, I am Aura. Or rather, I was."  
He looked down at her, taking it all in. "You've...you've..." -He stuttered- "Grown," he finished lamely.  
"I was nearly 17 when I was killed for looking for you..."  
"WHAT?! Why were you looking for ME?! I've always hated you." He looked at her incredoulously.  
She didn't answer.  
"Wait," he said, rubbing his temple. "You said you were killed. Why are you here now?"  
"Any person who dies with their greatest ambition unfulfilled, they are transformed into a ghost and left to roam the world until they fulfill what they were after."  
"And you're after...?"  
Aura turned to him. "You, Hiei. My greatest ambition was to make you mine."  
He laughed nervously. "But that was just a childhood crush--!"  
She shook her head violently. "No, it wasn't. I want you, I need you, and I LOVE you." She leaned against his chest. "Please don't push me away."  
"What are you trying to pull?!" But he didn not push away.  
She smiled at him. "I wish we could stay like this forever..." She nuzzled close to him. "Hiei, in order for me to stay with you, you must NOT fall in love with me."  
He rolled his eyes. "And WHY on EARTH would I fall in love with YOU?"  
"Necessity knows no limits, Hiei." Aura rolled onto his lap. "And right now, I can read your soul like an open book. You want someone to be close to, despite all your aloofness and sarcasm, all you want is someone that will be your soulmate."  
He snorted. "Stop spouting nonsense, woman."  
She smirked. "We'll see who's spouting nonsense to who." Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep, right on top of Hiei.  



	5. Ice That Cannot Melt

Well, it's a LITTLE longer. Warning; this chapter is very angsty. No cliffhanger this time. I know I know, too bad. Hope you like it; this is the part where the romance comes in!!

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Hiei stared at the sleeping girl. _What is she, narcoleptic?!_ He thought irritably. His mind told him to move her and leave, but his heart was warming up to her. As such, he couldn't help himself; he touched her hair, and then her cheek, and then her lips. She murmured and kissed his hand. A reluctant smile spread across the fire demon's face. He found himself leaning down so that his lips were a mere inch from hers. He moved closer...  
"HEY HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!" Yusuke came charging down the street, startling the black haired demon so much that he dropped Aura from the tree.  
"YOU LITTLE FARTKNOCKER! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!" He jumped down and caught Aura before she hit the ground.  
Yusuke wagged a finger. "You shouldn't drop girls, Hiei. Especially if you LIIIIIIIIIIKE them." He grinned from ear to ear. "And besides," he added, "I thought you didn't like Miss Sayaka. You should give him to Kuwabara; I don't think poor Yukina can take that idiot much longer."  
"Yukina should just kill him and be done with it," Hiei said simply. He dropped Aura onto the ground beside the giant oak tree. "And Kuwabara can HAVE Sayaka if she wants her."  
Yusuke looked confused. "But the way you were about to kiss her--"  
"DON'T BE IDIOTIC!" He yelled. "I was just checking to see if she was breathing."  
Yusuke sniggered. "That has got to be the LAMEST excuse I have ever heard in my entire LIFE."  
"Oh get lost, bastard."  
"Wanna fight this out?"  
"Ladies first."  
Hiei started to draw the katana that always remained by his side. But just then, Aura stirred. "He-man-chan, what's going on?"  
"HE MAN CHAN??!!!" Yusuke just about died laughing. "What a name!" He clapped Hiei on the shoulder. "I guess you DO have a sensitive side, EH, HE MAN CHAN?!"  
Hiei booted him over the horizon.  
Aura looked at him sideways. "What's wrong with He-man-chan?" She asked.  
"It's an idiotic nickname," he replied.  
"Oh." She didn't say anything for a long time. "Then what should I call you?"  
"Call me Hiei. JUST Hiei."  
She giggled. "Ok, JUST Hiei."  
"CUT IT OUT!!!" Hiei pounced on her, eyes burning rage. But when he landed on her, she just smiled up at him, extinguishing the flame of anger immediately.  
She reached up and put her arms around his neck. "What now, Hiei?" She pulled him close. "Won't you hug me back? It shouldn't make any difference since you don't love me. It can be...I don't know...a friend type thing."  
Hiei could feel her heart against his chest, and it was beating quite fast. However, his own just maintained its regular beat. His heart hadn't been long since frozen for nothing. "I don't know."  
She was silent once again. Hiei didn't hug her back, just left his arms lying at his side. But he did not push her away either. Somehow the warmth of her embrace left him feeling safe and comforted.  
All at once he noticed his shoulder was wet. He looked at her questioningly, and realized she was crying. "What's wrong, Aura?"  
She shook her head violently. "Nothing...I've just been wanting to hold you for so long...and now that I can, you can't hug me back." She looked up into his eyes. "You're just as warm as I thought you would be," she murmured. "Except--except...for right here." She kissed his chest.  
"You were crying there just a moment ago," he said. "Maybe the wind chilled the tears to being cold."  
"No, Hiei. Your heart is nothing but ice. I was hoping warm tears might melt it. I am a spirit, and spirits can sense these things."  
"I am confused."  
She laughed. "It seems kind of backwards. Ice Apparitions have warm hearts, while fire demons have souls of the coldest ice."  
"An icy heart cannot be broken," he said simply. "A forbidden child learns this early on."  
"Well, I haven't looked for you for 19 years for nothing," she said determinedly. "If you could love me, would you?"  
"The unloved cannot love..." He rested his head on her shoulder. "And I am unloved. I am someone the world has forgotten about, has turned its back on. Therefore, I must turn my back on the world and walk a lonely path. I walk a sharp line, Miss Aura. Any uncertainty would put me over the edge, and that is a risk I cannot take."  
"What if I said that I loved you, Hiei?"  
"You have. But I know you don't mean it. You've always enjoyed bugging me. You're just playing with my emotions, like every other being on this wretched planet."  
"If I didn't love you, would I do this?" She yanked him close and pressed her lips to his. Her slender hands clung to his thin frame, afraid to let him go. But his heartbeat did not get any faster. His eyes were squeezed shut, his fists clenched. Suddenly, he just shoved her away and backed down the field. "Why must you torture me like this?!" He screamed. "I cannot love! I cannot BE loved! So don't try to melt this ice that has settled in around my heart, just leave me the hell alone!" And with that, he turned and bolted down the street, oblivious to the tears streaming down the girl's face. 


	6. Phantom Nightmare

Hey peoples! Sorry this took so long to get done…I was at a loss :-P But now I'm back on track and ready to start Chapter 7! HAVE FUN, and please r & r!

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Hiei ran aimlessly into the night. The wind whipping his face and hair seemed to ease his mind from the shock he had just received. He hoped he could run away from his fear.  
_But what exactly am I afraid of?_ He asked himself. He ran faster, trying to escape the confusion that was swallowing him whole.  
BAMF! "OW! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU B--"  
A pair of evergreen eyes glittered back at him in the dark. Long blood red waves flowed in the wind, lightly whipping the small fire demon's face. "Hello, Hiei. I was just looking for you."  
Hiei's own ruby eyes met the emerald ones. "What did you need me for?"  
Kurama placed a friendly hand on his comrade's shoulder. "Are you alright? Everyone is worried about you. Even Yusuke is beginning to wonder."  
Hiei snickered. "And why WOULDN'T I be fine?"  
"Oh trust me. You are much more emotional that you let on."  
"And you would know this how?"  
Kurama pulled him into the embrace only a best friend could give. "Sometimes I think I know you better than you know yourself," the red-headed boy said.  
Hiei couldn't think of anything to say to that. He just surrendered to the warm embrace of his best friend. "Kurama, what should I do about Aura?"  
"About who?" He looked at him strangely. "You've never mentioned anything about anyone named Aura before..."  
Once again Hiei was silent.  
Kurama sighed. "Hiei, why do you do this to yourself?"  
Rubies met emeralds as Hiei regarded Kurama. _I've never told him...?_  
"Are you alright? You're getting more and more distant every time I see you. It's like you're slipping away and there's nothing I can do to stop it."  
"Who are you to say I'M distant?" Hiei said angrily. "If anyone's distant it's YOU!"  
Kurama glared at him. "The worst thing is that you can't SEE that it's happening. And as my best friend, it hurts to see you in so much pain..."  
Hiei stood up in a rage. "You're the one who can't SEE! Maybe it's the pain I NEED!" His voice lowered to a whisper. "Ice that never melts hurts worse than the hottest fire..." Flames sprang up from the ground around his feet, encircled him, then he was gone like a sakura blossom lost to the wind.  
The breeze left in his wake swirled Kurama's now white locks in front of amber yellow eyes. In place of the boy, there now sat a icy hearted kitsune. "Interesting..." he breathed, "very interesting indeed. The boy is right; unmelting ice does cause more pain than any blaze." A low rumbling laugh echoed through the cool autumn night. "Ah, I suppose only the ones who have been and remain there can understand. But..." -Mist shrouded his face as he exhaled into the cold- "the irony of it is, his icy heart is probably what will save him this time. Keep it up a little longer, Hiei. You've saved me on numerous occasions, and I INTEND to return the favor. I'm gonna exorcise this apparition before she ruins all our lives." 

***

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Crunch crunch crunch. The forest floor protested against the presence that walked across it. The demon wandered haphazardly across the nonexistant paths, as if searching for something that was long lost.  
"AURA IS REAL, GODDAMMIT!" He screamed to nobody. "I JUST-CAN'T-TELL-ANYONE!" He beat his fists against the thick trunk of an old oak. "I CAN'T TELL ANYONE THAT MY HEART OF ICE IS MELTING! I CAN'T TELL ANYONE THAT MY FEELINGS EXIST!!" He sank to the damp leaves. "It's not as if anyone would care..."  
"Oh but they would."  
Hiei whirled around to see Aura step out of the foliage. His heart skipped a beat. "A-Aura!" He tried to regain his composure. "Why did you follow me?"  
She laughed softly. "Why SHOULDN'T I follow the one I need...and who needs me?"  
"Your head's screwed on wrong."  
"Is it now?" Aura jokingly tilted her head from side to side. "No, I think it's on right." She came over and put her arms around him, one leg sprawled carelessly over his lap. "Itooshi, tell me what's wrong."  
_Itooshi...BELOVED..._ Hiei flushed as red as his eyes. He tilted his head down and let his hair hang in front of his face to hide the sudden obvious sign of weakness. "Aura, stop it right now." He pushed her leg away, but left her arms in place.  
She stroked his glossy black head. "What's the matter? Didn't anyone ever teach you to look at people when they're talking to you? Well, I suppose we have all those years of raising yourself to blame." When he didn't respond to this, she shook him slightly. "Hiei, look at me."  
Silence.  
"Are you listening?"  
More silence. But this time she heard a sound that hadn't been present before. _It was Hiei's heartbeat, pounding hard through his veins._  
Slowly, his ruby eyes came into view. Before he knew it, her lips were pressed to his. "Wha...?!"  
"Shh...don't talk. I'm not going to do anything nasty." She leaned in for another one, but a ray of sunlight hit her face, illuminating her blue-green eyes. "It's almost time for me to go..."  
"I know."  
"Remember, YOU MUST NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH ME."  
"You keep telling me that."  
"No matter how much you want to, don't give in."  
"YOU'VE TOLD ME A HUNDRED TIMES."  
She jumped a little at the sudden elevation in his voice. "I...I'm sorry...I just don't want to see this end." Another sunbeam struck her. "I'll see you tonight, ok?"  
Hiei nodded. "Maybe. IF I feel like it."  
"You will, I know it."  
"How do you know what I'M going to do?" He asked irritably.  
"I know you better than you think." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again.  
He squeezed his eyes shut but did not return the kiss. He just let his mind sweep him away from the present. _Everyone keeps telling me they know me better than I think...Could it be that they know me better than I know myself? This is all so confusing..._  
Only a hard slap across the face brought him back to reality.  
"What are you doing, you lech?!" Sayaka was scrambling backwards as fast as she could go. "Who said you could kiss me?!"  
"OH GETCHER MIND OUTTA THE GUTTER!" Hiei tossed a rock at her head. "If you were paying ANY attention whatsoever, you would have noticed that I WASN'T kissing YOU, YOU were kissing ME!"  
"I REMEMBER DOING NOTHING OF THE SORT!"  
"WELL I ALWAYS KNEW YOUR BRAIN WAS OUT TO LUNCH!"  
"YOU'RE--IMPOSSIBLE!" With a last glare at Hiei, she disappeared like a flash of lightning.  
Hiei sighed. "This is getting to be more complicated than I thought..." He turned and walked toward the edge of the woods, unaware of the amber-yellow eyes that had observed the whole occurence.


	7. The Chase Begins

Hiya, peeps! Get ready for a good one, this is where the tension starts building! It's kinda slow moving, but it's not TOO too bad…Lol, please r & r! Oh, and there are some funny parts in the first part…Funny is goooood ^______________________^

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"Hey Kuwabara, you seen Kurama?"  
"Not since yesterday."  
The two boys were sitting in the back of class F social studies, ignoring the teacher as usual. It was nearly noon, their lunch hour, and the whole class was bored to tears.  
Yusuke sighed and leaned back in his chair. "11:45," he muttered. "This sucks. I shoulda cut."  
Kuwabara was still on about Kurama. "It's not like him to miss class. I wonder if he's ok?"  
"I think I'll skip gym today..."  
"Hey Urameshi, are you listening to me?"  
"And maybe math...most DEFINITELY science..."  
"URAMESHI!" Kuwabara chucked his textbook at his friend just as the teacher turned around.  
"KAZUMA KUWABARA AND YUSUKE URAMESHI! IN THE HALL, NOW!!"  
Two minutes later they both were standing in the hall with buckets swinging from their hands. Yusuke rounded on Kuwabara. "Thanks a lot, carrots for brains, that teacher hates me so much it doesn't matter if I did anything or not, he'll have me in the hall before I can say kuso! Do you HAVE to get me in trouble ever chance you get?!"  
"You get in trouble so much that one more time in the hall wouldn't hurt. That's probably where you got your muscles; from carrying these buckets 17 times a day."  
Dropping his buckets, Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara by the collar. "I got these muscles from beating up bastards like you!"  
"Well let's see what they can do!"  
"YOU'RE ON!"  
"YUSUKE! KUWABARA! Fighting AGAIN?!"  
Both stopped and turned around.  
"Botan..." Yusuke said irritably. "You bug me everywhere else, but now in school too? Don't I get harrassed enough by the TEACHERS?!"  
Botan ignored him and continued on. "Hiei and Kurama are both missing, and there are rumors that a KITSUNE is wandering around at night. Now who does that sound like to you?"  
Kuwabara considered. "A kitsune? Sounds like Youko's up to his old tricks. We should go find them and see what's up."  
Yusuke finally snapped into reality. "If Youko and Hiei are running loose, who knows what kinda mayhem will come up. Let's go! HERO TIME!"  
"YEAH!" Botan took off down the hall, surprised at Yusuke's sudden enthusiasm.  
"Urameshi, you slob, you just want to get out of class."  
"Is that a crime?" 

A few minutes later, the gang was standing a few feet outside the forest where the sightings had occurred. Yusuke poked his head into the trees. "This place gives me the creeps. Do we HAVE to go in?"  
"Don't be a sissy, Urameshi. Besides, this place doesn't even give off bad vibes. It's perfectly fine." Kuwabara trudged right into the woods without a second thought.  
"Hmph. Showoff." Yusuke slicked back his hair and followed.  
"Uh, guys?"  
"What is it, Botan?"  
She stood shaking nervously. "I'll stay here and make sure Youko doesn't come out of the forest...eheh..."  
Yusuke stormed over and dragged her along by the arm. "Botan ya big baby you're the one who got us into this mess and yer comin' with us!"  
"BUT YUUUUUUUUUSUKE!!!" But Yusuke had already herded her deftly into the woods, Botan shrieking the whole way.  
"QUIET!" Kuwabara roared. "I can't even hear myself THINK!"  
"Touchy touchy," Botan muttered, but she zipped her lips all the same. The little group poked around through the trees, then came to the little clearing where Hiei and Aura had talked just the night before.  
"I smell fire demon." Kuwabara wrinkled his nose.  
"Ladies and gents, we have a prospecting bloodhound on our hands!"  
"Shut up Urameshi!"  
"Oh, now his NOSE needs silence too? Next thing you know he'll need quiet to FART..."  
Botan rolled her eyes and decided that if she was going to be dragged halfway across a forest she might as well get some work done, since the two boys were obviously not going to get past ripping each other's throats out. She knelt on the ground and ran her hands along the forest floor. Her slim fingers stopped when they came to a piece of cloth. "Hey guys, I think I've found something!" She gently removed it from it's resting place and held it up to the dim forest light. "This is...This is HIEI'S he-"  
"Gimme that, woman!" A blur flew over her head and the headband was gone from her hand. The little fire demon landed precisely on top of Yusuke and Kuwabara, keeping them from fighting more.  
Botan sighed. "Nice to see you too, Hiei. Where have you been?"  
"Why do you want to know?" He sneered. "It's not as if it's any of your business."  
She put her hands on her hips. "It's my BUSINESS because we're a TEAM, Hiei."  
"Oh shove it someplace the sun don't shine," he said irritably. He looked amused at Botan's appalled countenence, then went back to squishing Yusuke and Kuwabara's faces into the rotting leaves.  
"Wouldya quit usin' me as yer friggen doormat?!" Yusuke grabbed for the fire demon's ankles, but Hiei trotted safely out of reach. The spirit detective was about to start spewing obscenities again, but Kuwabara cut in to talk to Hiei.  
"Have you seen Kurama? He wasn't in school today."  
Hiei stared at him. "Not...in school? Kurama would never miss a day of that prison, however pointless it may be."  
"That's what _I_ said-"  
"The point is," Yusuke cut in, "that we need to find him because Youko is rumored to be on the loose. We figured he would be with you-"  
Kuwabara interrupted Yusuke again. "And you two would be causing trouble-"  
Exasperated, Hiei said, "Why is that you always think Youko and I are causing trouble when we're together? Koenma said that if we committed one more crime-"  
"Since when have you listened to Koenma?" Sayaka stepped out of the trees behind them. She caught sight of Hiei and wagged the file of papers she was holding at him. "Don't look so astounded, it's relatively simple to obtain criminal records, especially if you're as high up in the IAI as I am." Glancing around at the blank looks, she rolled her eyes and explained. "The Ice Apparition Investigators."  
Hiei's eyes were fixed on the folder. "Let me see that." He grabbed for it, but Sayaka pulled it tauntingly away. "Goddammit, give it to me!"  
The demon girl laughed and held it over to her left. "You're much too preoccupied, Hiei. Is something on your mind?"  
"WILL EVERYONE SHUT UP ABOUT WHAT'S ON MY MIND?!"  
"Why talk about something that doesn't exist?" Yusuke looked around for a smile. "Tough crowd, tough crowd..."  
Botan came over to Hiei and bent down to get right up in his face. "IS something bothering you, Hiei?"  
He let his eyelids droop into an exasperated stare. "Gettoutta my face. Don't you have an oar to ride?"  
She backed up. "Naw, I think he's fine."  
Just then they heard a crunch sound behind them; the sound of careful footsteps being picked across the carpet of leaves. Everyone froze, waiting to see the owner of the quiet feet.  
Kurama stepped out of the woods, coming face to face with the whole gang, various weapons drawn. "Hey now, what's this? Am I suddenly the enemy?"  
"Oh Kurama, thank GOD it's you!" Botan threw her arms around his neck. "I thought it was going to be Youko or another version of Rando or-" She stopped as Kurama was staring over her shoulder at Hiei. The little fire demon stared back in bewilderment, then in suspicion.  
"What? What are you looking at me like that for?"  
Kurama broke out of Botan's embrace and strided over to his friend. "I need to speak with you," he whispered fervently. "It's about Aura."  
Hiei reeled. "How...how did you KNOW...?"  
"Nevermind that now. I'll tell you later. But I MUST speak with you in private!"  
"And if I refuse?"  
"Then I'll be forced to tell you here and now, in front of EVERYONE."  
Hiei relented. "Alright, but make it quick. I don't want them thinking that this is an important matter."  
"Yes yes of course." Kurama held up one finger to the others and ushered his best friend deeper into the woods. 

"Ok. Now how the HELL did you find out about Aura?!"  
The redhead started pacing. "It's a long story. But right now, you have to know that Youko is planning to KILL her."  
Hiei stared in shocked silence for a while. Then, in an unsuppressably shaky voice - "W....what?"  
"He sees her as a threat to all of us. And-" He stopped pacing - "I think he's right."  
"RIGHT?!" Hiei exploded. "RIGHT?! HOW THE HELL IS THAT RIGHT?!"  
"No need to get THAT excited."  
"NO NEED?! NO NEED HE SAYS! OH TELL ME ANOTHER! YOU-"  
"You care about her, don't you, Hiei?" Kurama looked at him, emotionless, waiting for a response.  
"Don't tell me what I feel."  
Kurama shook his head. "If I don't tell you, no one will; not even your OWN heart. But please, hear my reasons for wanting to cooperate with Youko." When Hiei didn't say anything, Kurama continued on. "Aura is nothing but an apparition. She-"  
"She was always an apparition! An ICE apparition!"  
"That's not what I mean, and you know it," the redhead said patiently. "She's a ghost, a mere shadow of her former self. You cannot fall in love with her, though she may bring you to the brink of madness trying to resist your feelings. And after she gains your affections, she'll tell you there IS a way. SHE'LL TALK YOU INTO GOING TO THE AFTERLIFE WITH HER, HIEI."  
"Impossible," Hiei murmured. "Aura would NEVER do that..."  
"LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" Raising his voice for the first time, Kurama shook his best friend hard. "You're falling under her spell, just like she wants you to! Don't you see?! You spited her in life, and now she's out to take what she wants - your affections-"  
"But what's wrong with tha-"  
"AND your life."  
"...you lie."  
Kurama looked at Hiei incredilously. The demon had his head bowed. "Hiei....I'm your BEST FRIEND. Why would I lie to you?"  
"I don't know. You tell me." Cold red eyes bored into Kurama's own. "For all I know, all you've ever told me could be a lie. All ANYONE'S ever told me could be a lie. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan...all of them. Even Yukina. So if everything's a lie anyway, what's the matter with having one more? Especially one that I KNOW I'll be able to count on. No one has ever loved me like that before. I feel this gaping hole in my icy heart starting to fill..." He laid one hand over his chest. "Would you deprive me of even THAT small comfort?"  
Kurama was speechless. "H...Hiei..."  
"I don't want your pity. Pity those who need and relish in it. I'm strong enough." He stood up, relieved that he had finally been able to tell someone what was on his mind. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He started to turn, but he stopped abruptly. An unfamiliar stinging was tickling the edges of his eyes.  
Kurama just sat on the ground, still silent. He watched Hiei, standing motionless by a tree. Hiei shook himself violently and kept walking. 

Later that day the gang sat in the clearing wondering what to do with themselves, since Youko was currently concealed. They consented to playing a few rounds of "dodgeball", which consisted of throwing a gigantic energy bomb at each other until it exploded on someone. This game brought smiles to every face except Sayaka and Botan's, who sat back and watched sullenly.  
Suddenly Sayaka went rigid. "The sun's setting," she said in a low voice.  
"So? The sunsets are always pretty." Botan stretched and yawned.  
"Something weird always happenes at sundown..." The fire demon girl said quietly.  
Botan regarded her worriedly. "What do you mean?"  
Sayaka didn't answer, just got up and ran into the woods. Hiei, knowing what was happening blew up the energy bomb on Kuwabara's head and took off after her.  
"What the hell?" Yusuke started to get up, but a clawed hand was at his throat.  
"You're not going anywhere," Youko said contemptuously. "You or any of your little friends." He caught Botan and Kuwabara up by the arm and tied them all together. Once they were bound and gagged, he turned to the place where the rest of them had disappeared into the woods. An unseasonably icy wind blew his hair. "That's odd..."  
_CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE_ Ice froze the land completely, knocking the leaves to the ground and ice everywhere. Youko now stood in a sea of ice and snow. He looked around in stony silence for a while, then started to laugh maniacally. "And so the chase begins..." he murmured to himself. "Ready or not, HERE I COME!"


	8. Trapped

Sorry I haven't updated in so long!! T_T I've been so busy lately, and I was at a loss for the longest time. I'm also trying to keep up with my other fics, especially Such a Fooled Heart (my Labyrinth one; please read it too!). So thanks for your patience, and please R&R!

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Hiei battled the forest in his desperate search. The sun was setting lower on the horizon, practically counting down the minutes until Aura emerged. Branches and thorns whipped at his face as he pressed forward, leaving long bloody scrapes on his cheeks and any exposed flesh.  
"Dammit!" He muttered to himself. "Youko is on our tails now...But how do I find Aura before he does? I don't have the excellent sense of smell that he has..." He ran his fingers through his hair, got to his bangs, then stopped. "AHA!" He tore the headband from his forehead. The Jagan eye flashed.  
Slowly he scoped the woods. Youko was now heading due east. Hiei kept on scanning the forest. "There!" He breathed. Sayaka was stumbling blindly, the transformation taking place weakening her. Hiei took off at top speed and reached her in less than a minute.  
"Aura!" He yelled. "That is...you ARE Aura, correct?"  
She looked up at him, blue-green eyes glittering. "Of course it's me."  
"You sound tired."  
She laughed. "Well, of course. I only have the most dangerous kitsune in all of history chasing me."  
"Wait, how did you know he was chasing you? You took off into the woods before he even emerged."  
"I'm an Ice Apparition; I'm not a complete moron. I can sense his spirit energy a mile away."  
"I guess I forgot about that little fact," he said sheepishly. Then he regained his composure. "Well this is no time for making small talk; Youko is out to kill you."  
"I kinda figured that out." She rubbed her temple aggravatedly. "We can outrun him, yes, but can we outsmart him? Kitsune aren't idiots. He'll find me."  
"Correction: _I_ can outrun him. You don't really have any special powers."  
"Oh, so? So if I freeze you to the spot right now, summon an ice shard and jam it through your nonexistent heart, you won't even feel it?"  
"Nonexistent?!" He sputtered.  
"Yes, nonexistent. There's nothing I can do to shatter that ice wall, so I might as well take your heart for nonexistent. You never hugged me back or returned any of my affections. So why should I keep trying?"  
Hiei had nothing to say to that. After a time, he laughed softly. "So many people are leaving me speechless these days..."  
"Well, it's about time." She turned and ran further into the woods.  
His eyes followed her retreating form. He shook his head. "Aura, if only you knew what you're doing to me..." Then he followed her. 

Youko stood at the top of a tree in the distance, watching the odd pair run. Silently, he jumped from tree to tree, never taking his eyes off his targets. Never once did a branch snap, nor did he ever make a sound. His steps were fast and practiced.  
"Such easy prey," he murmured to himself. "Hiei's growing soft. I never expected to see him stoop to this level." Youko's eyes flamed with anger. "This wretch will PAY for what she's done to my best friend!  
"And just what did she do to me?"  
Youko whirled around. Standing behind him, hair blowing in the icy wind, was Hiei. His face was covered by a smug smile. "Surprised?" He asked tauntingly.  
Youko mustered a smirk. "No, not at all."  
Hiei inspected his right arm. "You were just saying you never thought I would stoop to this level. However, I seem to be a whole step above you in this situation." The Jagan flashed again.  
"You still don't see, do you." Youko stared at Hiei, but his hand behind his back motioned to a few vines. The vines slithered down from their resting spot on the tree towards where Aura was waiting below.  
"I see that you're a selfish bastard that never had a care for a single living thing in the world." He stroked the dragon encircling his arm. By now he had seen the vines creeping toward the one he was trying to protect, and he had no intention of letting them get to her. "And now it's time to end this." With a snap of his fingers, the vines burst into flames, melting the surrounding ice.

"NO!" Youko stepped back. "How did you see them?!" He demanded.

"Easy. You forget: I've known you for nearly 300 years. How could I NOT know of your power to control the forces of nature?"

The white fox demon growled. He had been outsmarted…for the time being. The he laughed. "You're getting good, my friend. I would have thought you too infatuated with that ice apparition to think clearly." Suddenly, the yellow eyes were serious. "But your mind seems transparent enough, in more ways than you think."

"Oh, so?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. That black dragon tattoo is the only power you have over me. If I were to destroy it, I could get at that ice girl with no interruptions. Then I shall make her PAY for what she's done to a once-proud demon." Youko summoned another vine, but not before making sure that it was covered with melting ice. It shot towards Hiei, crackling the air with its speed.

The fire demon jumped and avoided it easily. "You're losing your touch, aren't you, my "friend"?" It lanced at him from another direction, and again he evaded it with no trouble.

"All in due time, Hiei. All in due time." The kitsune carefully chose what he was aiming at, making sure to come within inches of the fire demon's throat.

Aura watched from below, blue-green eyes ablaze. "If this is what he does to a friend, I'd hate to see how he treats an enemy," she muttered. "But then again, kitsune aren't exactly the most pleasurable of company to keep yourself in. What does that fire demon think he's doing?"

She slid down from the branch she had been speculating from and tried to get within a good aiming distance of the fox demon. With a small cry, she tried to make her ice powers cooperate. Nothing came. "No good," she murmured. "I'm still not up to full power. I hope Hiei can last a little longer without me."

_Dammit! He's herding me! _Hiei dodged another blow from the vine. He couldn't set it ablaze because of the melting ice, nor could he touch it for fear of being caught. Youko kept well out of firing range of his black dragon.

"You coward!" Hiei yelled. "Come here and fight me like a man!"

"I could say the same to you," Youko said calmly. "You're the one running away here."

Hiei shut his mouth stubbornly and darted away from another vine whip.

"OOF!" He slammed into a rock wall. The fire demon scrambled to climb over it, but it was over 1000 yards high. He was caught.


	9. The Blow That Never Came

Here we go! Chapter 9! ^_^ I didn't know where I was going with this story for the longest time…Thanks for your reviews! I am open to any suggestions. They are greatly appreciated (and REALLY needed ^.~;;). So R&R, and I'll TRY to get the next chapter up.

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Hiei stared helplessly up at the wall of rock that jutted out behind him. "DAMN!" He screeched, hitting his fists off the surface. The part under his fists broke and crumbled, but the obstacle in front of him remained intact.

While Hiei's tantrum raged, Youko hopped carelessly from tree to tree toward his cornered prey. He called a few vines to prevent the little fire demon's escape from all sides except the one he was coming from. The icy wind blew at his hair, and the frozen coating on the trees threatened to trip him, but he chose his steps carefully and advanced nonetheless.

As he approached Hiei, a familiar grin spread across his face. "I have you, my little fire demon," he said. Vines snapped like demon ropes around his ankles, as if itching to get at their victim.

Hiei stopped pounding on the wall and turned slowly to face his nemesis. His fingers clenched with fury and his eyes were dangerously narrowed.

"You bloody frickin' coward," he hissed. "You knew that wall was there."

"I wouldn't call it cowardice," Youko chided. "I would prefer to say…I planned ahead."

"Call it what you wish, but to me you are still nothing but a damn coward." As he spoke, Hiei scanned the forest for any sign of Aura. Although he wouldn't admit it even to himself, he desperately needed help. And anything the Ice Apparition had to offer was good enough for the time being.

Youko caught his gaze. "Looking for the little girl, eh?"

"What would I need her for? It's not like she can do anything to help me."

"You look as if you would pay blood and jewels for any scrap of assistance thrown at your feet."

"Feh. Shows what you know." Hiei suddenly jumped up and thrusted his feet back against the wall, propelling himself at a quite considerable speed toward his ex-comrade.

Youko had just enough time to take a single step back before the demon's spiky hair was embedded in his chest. "OOOF!" The kitsune staggered backwards, glaring murder out of pained eyes. Hiei took advantage of the moment of weakness to pull his sword out of its pocket in space and time, unsheathe it, and hold it to Youko's throat.

"Now who's in charge of the situation?" Hiei announced, drawing a thin line of blood from the fox's neck.

"It seems you are." Kurama's other form looked down at the blade, eyes judging the size and strength of the steel. His yellow eyes met the ruby ones as he looked up at Hiei. "But things are not always what they seem." A long thorned tendril broke out of the stone behind the pair. Hiei let out a sharp yell and dove out of the way, letting the vine whiz harmlessly past him. He stood up and once again held the sword to his "friend's" throat.

"It seems you're losing your touch. Just a few weeks ago you'd have had my head."

"Ah, but I have not 'lost my touch', as you say. I wasn't aiming for you. Had I gotten you, it would have just been an added bonus." A long clawed finger waved to the valley behind the fire demon. "Look there, and see my true target."

Dread already tugging at his heart, Hiei spun around. A small section of the forest lay in ruin where the plant had struck. Trees were bent over and cracked in half, and swirling debris blew through the newly made clearing. Hiei's eyes strained, trying to catch a glimpse of what had been hit.

Slowly the dust settled. But suddenly Hiei wished it hadn't.

There, among the rubble, a small scrap of a blue gown fluttered in the cold.

"Aura…" He whispered, barely able to choke the words past the knot in his throat. The blade fell from his fingers. Shock was all that could describe what he felt. Shock, and sorrow.

Youko scooped the blade up off the ground, and in a flash it was against Hiei's throat.

"I knew that would make you let your guard down," he hissed into his ear. "You and that wretched girl. Once upon a time, no one could tame you. Now look at yourself! A heap of lovesick idiocy, trying to pass itself off as a demon. Do you see what she has done to you?!"

Hiei couldn't speak. As much as he had denied it along the hard, rocky journey called life, Aura was the one who meant something to him. The ONLY one.

"You see it, don't you. You see what you've become. But now that obstacle has gone, and you are free to be as you once were."

"You're wrong."

"What?!" Youko drew the sword closer to it's destination. "Say it again, and your head will roll."

"Kill me if you wish. But even if you decide to spare me, I can never again be what I was. Once the spring has come, no winter ice can stand against it. I leave it in your hands."

"You will regret that decision," the kitsune said icily. He raised the weapon high. "Goodbye, Hiei. May you find your "love" in hell." And with that the sword whistled through the air.

Hiei closed his eyes. _Aura, if what he said is true, I WILL meet you, God willing._

But the blow never came.


	10. We Shall Meet Again

Sorry it took me so long to update. . .I know I'm a loser, but I've been really busy with my Labyrinth fic. Also doing stuffs with my friends :-P I DO have some sort of a life you know. . .Not much, but it counts for something! (Said as she sits there on Valentine's Day babysitting and writing fan fiction. . .My boyfriend wants to kill me :-P) R&R!!! This chapter's sort of a song fic. . .

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Hiei's ruby eyes slowly flickered open. He panted, mouth open and dry. _Why don't I taste blood. . .?_

"Wench!" Youko hissed from somewhere out of Hiei's line of sight. The fire demon turned his disoriented gaze toward something that he would never forget.

The sword shook, the blade itching for more of the blood that it had drawn. Youko's eyes burned with rage as he gazed upon the apparition that had taken his kill from him.

Aura's pretty flowing locks we now drenched with her life-blood, drawn from the sword-cut in her neck. Her eyes, though taunting, were glazed with the mist of a dying soul. Weakening hands clenched determinedly at the kitsune's arms, nails digging crescent moons into the flesh.

"Im. . .impossible!" Youko breathed.

"Anything. . .is possible. . .," she whispered. The sword barely allowed air to pass to her lips as she tried to speak.

__

This world, This world is cold  
But you don't, you don't have to go. . .  


Filled with a sudden wrath, Hiei unwrapped the Black Dragon Tattoo, ripping the bandages away as fast as he could. All that filled his sight was the dying girl bravely taking on the death that should have been his. The helpless fury fed the flame of his power as he channeled it into the oncoming blast.

"Youko Kurama. . ." he spat through clenched teeth, "now you die." He raised his arm high; he could feel the roar of the dragon ringing in his ears - whistling through the very wind.

__

You're feeling sad, you're feeling lonely  
And no one seems to care

Memories and images of his childhood with the Ice Apparition flooded into his mind. She was the only one who took notice of him, and the only one who seemed to care. The only thing that had saved him from the madness of loneliness. And watching her die before his eyes was too painful.

__

Your mother's gone and your father hits you. . .

The dragon snarled to life, encircling the fire demon like liquid. Youko stared back at him, fear starting to dawn in his evil eyes. 

Aura smiled weakly. "Go. . .get 'em. . .He-Man-Chan. . ." She held tight to Youko's arms, trying to act as if the sword were not present.

The kitsune smirked suddenly, the old self-confident air returning. "You won't use it; not so long as she remains with me." He dug the blade deeper into Aura's neck, making her cringe.

Hiei hesitated, then persisted. "She's already half-dead anyway. No need to make her suffer any longer! GO! BLACK DRAGON!!" His arm burst into flame, and the dragon lanced forward, slicing the very air with its speed.

_This pain you cannot bear_

The fire demon had to avert his eyes from the scene in front of him, something he had never had to do before. Carnage had never affected him like it did now. It felt to him as if the whole world would collapse from just that one attack.

The dragon raced forward with its godlike power, flattening trees and tearing at the rock wall before them.

Youko screamed. Aura howled in triumph.

. . .And the wall came tumbling down.

~*~

Rocks crashed to the ground all around Hiei. He painstakingly became aware of his surroundings; mostly because of the fire searing up his arm. Blearily, he focused on the destruction.

Trees and rubble lay scattered about. The ice had begun to melt, and water flowed in rivers like tears off of the shattered face of the mountain. Youko was nowhere to be seen. . .

. . .but someone else was.

Aura lay in a heap a few feet a way from him, sword clutched in one hand, gasping out her pain.

"Aura!!" Ignoring the pain in his arm, Hiei staggered over to where she had fallen. He gently pulled the sword out of her grasp. Her eyes fluttered hazily open.

"Hiei. . ."

"Shh, don't speak. I'm gonna help you."

She smiled. "I'm sorry Hiei. . .but you can't."

"Yes I can!" He shouted stubbornly. "You can't die! You're an apparition!"

"True, I. . .can't die. But I will. . .have to. . .wait until I am. . .born again."

"No. . ." Hiei clenched his teeth and bowed his head close to her shivering body.

__

But we all bleed the same way as you do  
We all have the same things to go through  


"Hiei, don't do this-"

"Shut up!" He yelled. Placing his hand over her wound, he wished feverishly for it to heal. Blood running down his arm mingled with hers. "Just. . .hold on!"

__

Hold on....if you feel like letting go  
Hold on...it gets better than you know

Finally, he let his head sink to rest against hers in defeat. Tears splashed down onto her face, creating muddy rivers in the dirt caked there. "Why. . ."

Her soft, sweaty palm reached up to caress his cheek. "I told you not to fall in love with me."

He looked up, ready to spout a retort, but her eyes stopped him. For in them he could see a fond, bittersweet memory.

Hiei bit back a howl. How could he live without this girl now. . .?

__

Your days, you say they're way too long,   
And your nights, you cant sleep at all (hold on)

"What?" He asked hesitantly. "What are you thinking of?"

"Remember when we used. . .to play in my mother's old closet. . .and pretend we were royalty. . .and you would tell me you would. . .never leave me?"

"Don't bring that up right now. Just stop talking!" The memories were too painful to bear in mind.

"Then just let me go. That's all you wanted to do before."

__

And you're not sure what you're waiting for   
But you don't want to no more  
You're not sure what you're what you're looking for  
But you don't want to no more

But we all bleed the same way as you do

And we all have the same things to go through. . .

"But Aura, I love you," he muttered.

Her eyes focused on him again. "Wh. . .what did you say?"

"I said I love you, dammit!" He shouted. "Do you hear me?!"

Light exploded all around them, engulfing them. The wound at Aura's throat disappeared, and her hair turned an aqua blue. Hiei watched in tired wonder as she changed from a fire demon with blue eyes to a full fledged ice apparition.

Aura waved her hand, and a fire appeared within it. "I knew you did, Hiei. I just had to wait until you would say it." She tossed the flame back and forth. "This. . .this, represents our love. Do not lose it. I will come back for you." She placed it into his hand. "Do not let it go out."

Numbly, he nodded.

She smiled. "Then go. And remember. . ._Sou sa Sayanara wa pirido ja nai sou. . .eien no saka wo nobette yukeba. . .itsu ka mata aeru._[1]" And with that she was gone.

__

Hold on....if you feel like letting go  
Hold on..it gets better than you know  
Don't stop searching you're one step closer  
Don't stop searching its not over...Hold on

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next chapter will be a finish/sequel. I'm just too lazy to start another story :-P.

[1] = Sou sa sayonara wa pirido ja nai sou, eien no saka wo nobette yukeba, itsu ka mata aeru. Means: That is so that goodbye is not a period. If I can climb that everlasting hill, then we shall meet again.

-taken from a YYH song.


	11. Gone

OK!!! I am going to finish this. . .even if it kills me. . This story and the sequel kind of run together in this chapter. . .So yeah lol R&R!!!

* * *

  


Hiei stared up at the sun, letting the drops of melting ice drip onto his outstretched arms. Light struck his face, illuminating nearly lifeless ruby red eyes. His breathing was short and shallow, creating puffs of mist in the chill. The ground seemed to pound with the rhythm of his heart as it pounded madly against his chest. The flame in his hand roared and sparked, but he paid it no heed. His thoughts were far away, soaring through heaven's skies with the Ice Apparition who had finally melted his heart.

"Aura. . ."

His eyes overflowed, casting the last of the icy coldness from the confines of his dark soul. The liquid ice flowed in sparkling waterfalls to strike the ground in a silent serenade.

"God. . .dammit. . ." Finally lowering his head away from the piercing rays, Hiei pulled the flame against his chest. "BURN ME!" He screeched. "For God's sake, take me with you, Aura! Take my life with your love!"

The flame crackled and hissed, but did not scald the fire demon. He silently cursed himself for being what he was.

_It's all because of what I am that my troubles started. _The thought echoed bitterly through his mind. _Why. . .why is life so cruel. . ._

"Life is cruel just as you are cruel, Hiei."

"WHO GOES?!" He whirled around, good arm at the ready. The black dragon had pretty much destroyed his right arm for the time being, though it still clutched the roaring flame to his heart.

Kurama, not the evil Youko, but the _real_Kurama, stepped lightly across the foliage. His clothes were ripped, and blood cascaded from every limb, but his smile was as strong as it had always been.

"I saw your struggle through the eyes of another, but I felt your pain all the same." The warm emeralds sparkled. "And even though it wasn't my own, my heart ached like it never had before. I can't even begin to imagine what it is like for you."

Hiei managed a haughty snort. "I don't need your pity, Kurama."

Kurama kneeled down in front of his friend. "I know you don't. Pity was never your thing."

"You're damn right."

Silence fell over the two. Kurama shifted, and soon he was leaning against a tree staring up through the leafy canopy. He stole a glance at the fire demon, wondering what he could do to make him feel a little better. Hiei looked about ready to rip his own heart out, despite his tough act. Abruptly words just brushed past his lips.

"Sou sa sayonara wa pirido ja nai sou. . ."

Hiei's head snapped up. "What did you say?" He demanded.

Kurama didn't stop; the words just came on their own. "Eien no saka wo nobette yukeba. . .Itsu ka mata aeru."

"Where did you learn that?" Hiei murmured after a time. His eyes deliberately searched the ground before him.

"You learn a thing or two through observation," Kurama said. "Not like you would know, though."

Hiei decided to ignore that last comment. Without a word, he turned away from Kurama and stared blankly through the trees, flame still clutched to his chest.

Kurama let the quiet slide for a few more minutes. The stillness gripped them both in its cold hand. Hiei was off in a world of his own; Kurama could tell by the vacant look in his eyes. His thoughts were definitely with Aura.

Kurama's head dropped back against the trunk of the thick oak. _Give it a little more time. . ._His eyes drifted closed unbeknownst to him, and soon he was asleep.

His friend's absence of mind soon seeped into Hiei's consciousness. He turned and looked at Kurama. _I thought he'd never fall asleep. . ._

As silently as he could, Hiei got to his feet and sped away from the small clearing. A few minutes later, he was standing at the foot of the crumbled mountain. He stared up at the rock, fresh memories searing through his brain. With a shudder, he shook them away. He wasn't here to reminisce. Not just yet.

Rocks groaned and shuddered as the fire demon rooted through them. His fingers were soon bloody, but he didn't care. He was on a mission. The pain was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside.

_Or the pain SHE felt. . ._

His hand struck something sharp. A grunt of triumph interrupted his sorrow as he lifted the beaten sword from the rubble. He rubbed at the dirt until the steel shone back at him with renewed vigor.

"Sorry, old friend, but you won't see another battle. No more blood will run down your blade." He stared at it, then in a quieter voice, he murmured, "No blood will overrun Aura's."

The bloodstain was the only blemish left on the metal. It covered nearly a fourth of the blade, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. So instead he bounded to the very top of the fallen mountain.

"Aura. . .may you rest in peace." And with that, he drove the sword down into the mountain face. The force behind the blow sent a rumble through the mountain, echoing the pain in his heart.

The rock split even further, cracking right down to its core. Magma spurted up through the crater, engulfing the fire demon from head to toe. Kurama woke from his light sleep. "What the - ?!"

The flow launched itself nearly 100 feet in the air. The red-headed "human" sprang to his feet. "Hiei!" He yelled. Then he took off at top speed toward the fountain of fire.

By the time he got there, the flow had stemmed, leaving only a thin trickle of magma streaming down the sides. Kurama tried to press forward, but the lava kept him at bay. All he could do was sit back helplessly and wait till the smoke cleared.

When it did, he instantly wished it hadn't.

All that was left was the sword, dug deep into the fresh magma. Hiei was no where to be seen.

* * *

  


Wha'd I tell ya? Kinda mixed there. . ..O R&R plz!


	12. Just Passing Through

Sorry it took so long!!! Here it is! R&R!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hiei was silent as the magma swept him through forgotten passages overflown from the earth's core. The heat didn't hurt him; he hoped it was taking him to the underworld. He sighed and let his head fall back into the thick liquid. _Maybe I'll find Aura there. . . _A smirk stole across his face when he heard Kurama's voice calling his name, demanding his location. "Goodbye Kurama."

He was swept over the top of a magma waterfall. Without moving a muscle, he looked solemnly at the pool of glowing red far below him. The air whipped at his hair, trying to restrain his fall, but the fire demon just smiled and invited the pulling feeling in his gut. He lazily turned a few slow flips in the air, then braced himself to hit the surface.

But the impact never came.

Soon he was falling through darkness. He vaguely wondered what had happened. With his sharp eyes focused in the dim light, he could make out small shapes creeping through the shadows, all hard at work. _Demons._ They moved slowly and deliberately, each turning to steal a glance at the fire demon free falling behind their backs.

"Another one bites the dust," one cackled. He pulled a chain from his pack. A few others did the same. Then they all whirled them over their heads and threw them at Hiei. Hiei moved to block them, but they passed right through his arms, falling harmlessly away.

One of the demons gave a noise of surprise. "We got a live one!" He ran off, almost tripping over the chain that now hung forgotten, trailing behind his back. An alarm sounded from deep within the cavern. Fires blazed to life all over, illuminating the dark with an eerie flickering light.

Hiei whistled softly. The cavern was bigger than anything he had ever seen. Ledges and stairways lined the walls, and hidden doorways led away from the main room. Cages were being carted along the ground.

_Am I in hell. . .?_

The ground swooped up at him, and he turned his feet to meet it. When he hit, it sent a shiver through the rock under his impact. He took this opportunity of confusion to take a look around.

Pools of fire covered by thin walkways wound their way across the whole floor. The ceiling was about 300 feet high, stretching across seemingly endlessly. Then something besides the cavern caught his eye.

Aura was being carted away by two nasty looking demons. Each held a wickedly sharp spear to her throat, though she seemed to be putting up no struggle.

"Oh, no, you've been reincarnated enough, you arrogant little ice demon!" One hissed, digging a claw into her arm.

"It's probably her fault that the live one's here as well," the other muttered. "What do we do with her?"

Hiei's eyes went wide. "Aura!" He screamed. He ran toward her at top fire demon speed, flying past several guards who nearly fell over from the wind. Aura looked up.

"Hiei?! What are you doing here?!"

Hiei conjured a fireball and threw it at her attackers. But the flames passed right through them. They laughed.

"Idiot!" Aura sputtered. "One, you're alive! You can't touch them! And two; THEY LIVE IN HELL FOR CRAP'S SAKE! DON'T YOU THINK THEY'RE USED TO FIRE?!"

But Hiei wasn't listening to what she was saying. "I can't believe I found you!" He ran toward her to throw his arms around her, but just like the rest of them, his hands passed right through her. "HN?!"

Aura sighed. "I tried to tell you. . ."

Then the ground shook again, and a demon stepped out of the cavern. A flute twirled through his hands, and yellow and red tentacles swayed in front of pale skin.

"Well, I suppose I can take care of this one," Suzaku laughed. Then he held his flute to his lips and blared a note.


	13. Get Me Out

Hiei clutched his hands over his ears as the deathly sweet music washed over the cavern. Suzaku's fingers flew expertly over the keys of the flute, creating the killing tune that made even the underworld's strongest warriors shield their ears in terror.

"Hiei, get out of here!" Aura shouted over the cacophony. "This is the Death Tune! It'll kill you if you don't get out before it's finished!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Don't be so stubborn!" She cried desperately. The guards that had been leading her had chosen instead to cover their ears, so Aura ran to Hiei, cupping his hands in hers. Her fingers slipped right through his, but she paid it no notice. "Don't sacrifice your life for one that was lost long ago!" The ice apparition's eyes dropped to the cavern floor, squinted because Suzaku was so far into the haunting melody it was bone shattering.

Over their shouting, the two hadn't noticed the music was coming steadily closer. Suzaku picked his steps carefully as he kept the loud ear-splitting notes perfectly level with one another. He continued until he was but a few feet away from the quarrel, and watched with his purple eyes gleaming.

"Aura, I'm not leaving unless you come with me!" Rubies glittered in the firelight.

"And for what purpose?!" She shouted back. "I've been dead for centuries!" Her own sapphire eyes glimmered up at him, begging. "Please, I'll find a way back to you."

Suzaku paused as he heard this, his finger poised above the final, fatal note. Slowly he lowered the flute away. "Isn't this romantic," he spat. Both demons spun to face him, relieved that the music had stopped and wary of the reason. Suzaku turned to Aura, eyes leering at her. "And what makes you think, little girl, that you can find a way to get back to life?"

Aura gaped at him. "I…" Her mouth moved wordlessly as she searched for something to say. "I…"

Hiei chose to watch the flute as it rested in the saint beast's hands, for that was far more dangerous than what it was saying. If this had been any normal battle, he would have tried to snatch the instrument away and crush it. But he knew full well that his fingers would slip right through.

_Dammit, how do I win?!_

Suzaku leaned so close that Aura's hair swayed with his breath. "I want out of here as well. However, I have been searching ever since…my untimely…demise." A glare shot to Hiei, who ignored it. "I have only found one way to do so. Someone must go up to the _living_ Spirit World and get me the Genstapo."

"No!" Aura shouted. She scrambled back from the demon. "I can't take that!"

"What is it?" Hiei asked, interest perked up. When Suzaku just gave him an evasive look, he swung his fist to knock the smirk off that arrogant face. The saint beast laughed as the fire demon's hand passed harmlessly through his head.

"Fire demons aren't as smart as they look, are they?" He taunted. "And that's saying something, because you look pretty stupid with that expression as well."

Hiei's mouth shut with a click of teeth. He had been gawking at his own stupidity; he didn't need someone to point it out to him.

"You seem to be unfamiliar with the Genstapo," Suzaku continued. "It is a legendary weapon, used by the ice apparitions. It is what they use to keep their floating island in the air. However, that is not its only use." He licked his lips, then turned to dispel the curious looks he was receiving from the demons around him. They scurried away under his glare, going on with their work as if nothing had ever happened.

"Well?!" Hiei demanded. "Are you going to tell us, or are you going to leave us standing here like a couple of morons?!"

Suzaku turned his violet eyes back on him. Then, with icy resolve, he said, "I will only help you if you help me. I want to get out of this hellhole as much as you do. Get me out of here, and I will help you."


End file.
